Staying Ahead of the Storm

According to the weatherman, we have a nor’easter heading our way. We’re supposed to get some snow, which will quickly give way to heavy rain. Not wanting to drive around in a sloppy mess, I did an early morning activation in Valley Forge National Historical Park (K-0761, KFF-0761).

I chose Valley Forge, since it’s one of the closest parks to my home. I figured if the snow got going earlier than predicted, I didn’t have too far to go to bail out. 

I rolled into a trailhead parking lot at 9am (local time) and grabbed one of the last few parking spaces available. I suppose folks wanted to get their hiking and dog walking in before the snow started. 

With my current go to set up (TR-35 and 12-foot loaded whip), I was on the air in less than five minutes. I operated on 40M, 30M, and 17M today, and there was no shortage of hunters on any of those bands. 

I called it quits after an hour and twenty minutes. It wasn’t because of the snow and rain; my fingers were getting cold and my sending was getting sloppy. Even in the confines of the truck, the temperature was about 45 F (7 C). I ended with 51 QSOs in the log. I had one park-to-park and seven DX contacts: 

• France (2)
• Italy (2)
• Hungary
• Belgium
• Ukraine

It’s snowing now as I write this. Luckily, the winter weather held off until after I got home and unloaded the truck. So far, the snow in this area isn’t amounting to much. Stay safe, if you’re in an area getting the heavier snow from this storm.

72, Craig WB3GCK